Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance

In a previous article, I briefly examined the possibility of purification (tazkiyyat) - more precisely, cultivation of the self (nafs) through pruning it of its defects - in relation to a tyrant (taaghoot) and/or a system of tyranny (tughyaan). It was shown that, according to The Qur'an [=the proclamation of God/Allah to the human being], the possibility of self-purification, of self-reform, of self-correction, is indeed open, in principle, to the tyrant; however, rarely does such an individual avail himself or herself of such an opportunity in practice.

It is important to appreciate that purification/cultivation through pruning is something that all selves (nufus) need to be engaged in, and constantly. This is because all human beings are capable of some form of tyranny - to themselves if not to others - even if this tyranny does not take the form nor assume the degree of tyranny associated with an individual such as Fir'awn/Pharoah. In fact, according to (91:8-9), this activity is the basis of self-preservation (taqwa), and, as stated in (5:8), that (action) which is closest for self-preservation is justice/equitable dealing/equal treatment ('adl) of the 'other'. On this basis, it might be argued that the highest form of purification of the 'self' (tazkiyya) is equal treatment of the 'other' and that the degree to which the 'self' is preserved is conditional on the way that it deals with the 'other'. In this sense, the individual and the community, the one and the many are tied together.

In Surah Ash-Shams (The Sun), God/Allah says:

(91:7) Consider the human ‘Self, and how it is capable for being balanced out.
(91:8) And how it is instilled with the capacity to disintegrate or become secure.
(91:9) Successful indeed is he who grows the ‘Self’.
(91:10) And failure is indeed he who keeps it buried (under ignorance and superstition).
(91:11) (Disregarding this principle) Thamud rejected (Saleh) while playing God.
('Tagha' = Being 'Taghut' = Becoming a false god = Playing God = Transgressing = Rebelling = Crossing bounds of decency = Extreme arrogance)

(Taken from The Qur'an as It Explains Itself by Shabbir Ahmed.)

Note that the focus of (91:7-10) is the individual 'self' (nafs) and the possibility of its purification/pruning (tazkiyya), whereas (91:11) refers to the tyranny (taghaa) of a community.

Peace